⋆˙⟡☾𖤓☽ ⟡˙⋆

I feel a little awkward walking with Jungkook to his house after school.

I'm not used to having friends like Jungkook. Friends that know nothing of my condition and don't pity me for it.

I like it.

    "So. What made you change schools so late in the year?" Jungkook asks.

    "Well...my mom wanted me in a private school." At least it's half the truth.

    "Oh. I've never met your mom have I?"

    "I don't think so."

    "I'd like to. If she's as cool as you we should be great friends."

He smiles at me and I laugh a little. Does he really think I'm cool?

Jungkook lives in a townhouse not too far from the shop, they're really nice on the outside.

    "This is me," He says, pulling out his key to unlock the door. I feel like I'm being awkward just standing there so I stuff my hands in my pockets. He opens the door lets me in first with a smile before entering and calling his mom.

    "Mom!" He shouts, removing his jacket and hanging it on the coat rack by the door. I shrug my jacket off as well and he takes it from me.

    "Thanks," I say, looking around the house a little before a woman with long, flowing black hair rounds the corner with a bright smile.

    "Mom, this is Taehyung. I told you about him, remember?" Jungkook asks after hanging my jacket.

    "Yes, yes. I remember." The women smiles holding her hands out to me. "You can call me Lana."

    "It's nice to meet you," I say taking her hands and bowing politely.

    "Oh, Mom was born in the states, you don't have to do that." Jungkook chuckles a little.

I nod, smiling. "It's nice to meet you."

Lana laughs, cupping my cheek. "You're so sweet."

I feel my face heat up—I'm awkward and don't know how to respond.

    "You guys can head downstairs," She tells us. "I already pulled out the boxes."

    "I told you I'd do that," Jungkook says with a little bit of an eye roll.

    "Yeah, well I'm not that old, Jungkook, I can do a few things around here on my own," She jokes, poking Jungkook's side. "Will you be around for dinner Taehyung?"

    "Um, no. Sorry, my mom's expecting me back in a little bit." I answer.

Lana nods. "Next time. It was nice meeting you, let me know if you guys need anything."

    "We'll be downstairs," Jungkook says before leading the way to the basement door.
I follow him down the creaky staircase and down into the neatly organized basement. "It's cold down here."

I resist the urge to ask, is it? And cross my arms. "Yeah."

    "Here we are." He pulls the box closer. "Some of them are in english."

I smile a little. "This is really kind of you guys."

    "It's no problem. What other excuse would I have to invite you to my house?" He laughs, looking up at me. "I kinda sound like a douchebag, don't I?"

I laugh awkwardly, crouching down next to him. "It's okay."

I see him smile a little out of the corner of my eye as he pulls out some of the books.

    "Why do you read so much anyway?" He asks, frowning as he flips through a book.

I shrug. "It keeps me occupied I guess."

    "You play video games?" He asks dropping the book.

My mother never wanted me to play video games or watch TV or even stare at a cellphone all day. She was worried that my eyesight would deteriorate quicker due to my condition.

    "My mom doesn't let me," I answer. "I like reading, it's fun if you really get into it."

My watch beeps signalling that I should eat something, my mom's probably freaking out.

    "Got somewhere to be?" Jungkook asks.

I shake my head, smiling before changing the subject. "Your mom's nice, I like her."

    "Yeah," He says. "She's the best."

We stay in the basement looking through the books for almost an hour before we head upstairs, my backpack filled with the ones I chose to keep.

    "Are you going so soon?" Lana asks, appearing in the living room.

    "Yes,," I say smiling at her. "Thank you so much for having me."

    "Of course, it was nice to meet you dear." She takes my hands in hers. "Oh, your hands are freezing. Jungkook you shouldn't have had him down there so long."

    "He didn't complain," Jungkook says, earning a look from his mom. "I'm sorry Taehyung." He smiles at me afterwards.

    "It's okay, I wasn't cold." It isn't a lie.

Jungkook hands me my coat. "I'm walking him home, mom."

    "Alright, be careful." She says as she disappears down the hall.

    "I'll carry your backpack." Jungkook says.

    "You don't have to." He's already taking it from me.

    "It's heavy," He states opening the front door and letting me walk out first. I check my watch as I walk out of the door, thirty minutes before I had to be home.

    "So, Coffee shop boy," Jungkook starts as we walk. I hum, letting him continue. "Did you maybe want to hang out with me and my friends during lunch hour instead of sitting alone?"

I fall silent at his offer. Did he really want me to sit with him? He just feels sorry for you.

    "You don't have to, obviously. I mean~ I know you probably like sitting alone, it's fine if you don't want to. It's cool." Jungkook stammers with a shrug.

I can't help but laugh. "I don't like sitting alone."

    "So...you'll sit with me?" He sounded more sure of what he was saying. "Well, I mean us?"

I nod smiling. "I'll sit with you."

    "Cool. Alright." Jungkook smiles, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

I smile looking down at my feet as I walk.

I don't know if Jungkook's friends will like me or not, but I hope they are as kind as he is.

☾𖤓☽

I barely get through the door before my mother is there.

    "Taehyung, honey you're back," She says, appearing from the bedroom. "I was worried sick~"

    "Mom," I cut her off, letting Jungkook in.

She stops when she sees him. "Oh, hello."

    "This is Jungkook," I say pushing him forward a little.

He chuckles nervously, bowing respectively. "Hello Ms. Kim. It's nice to meet you."

My mother nods. "You as well. Thank you for bringing him back safely."

I roll my eyes a little at that.

    "No problem." Jungkook nods. "I'll be going then, here you go, Coffee~ Tae. Coffee Tae, ha."

I shake my head, taking the backpack. "Thanks again."

    "No worries. See you 'round school later," He says, bowing to my mother once more before walking out.

I close the door behind him with a smile before turning to my mom.

    "I got new books," I say, going to sit on the couch.

    "You have to eat," She says.

    "In a minute. Come look please?" I ask unzipping my backpack.

She walks over with a sigh. "Quickly. You have to take your medicine after you eat."

It gets tiring you know? Following the same exact schedule everyday. I know if I didn't I'd probably die, but still. It gets old not being able to tell when I'm hungry, when I'm thirsty, when I'm hurt. I try not to think about it though, I try to keep myself busy so I don't think about it.

Another good reason to read: it allows me to escape to another world.

A world where there's pain, a world where I can be someone else—even if it is limited to words on a page.

I like getting wrapped up in a story and forgetting myself.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽ ◯ ☾₊‧⁺˖⋆